ADDENDUM: Check out page 76 of the original hardcover edition of 'The Book Of Tiki' for a big, beautiful color shot of what is quite possibly the Marina Don's in all it's nocturnal glory, with torches ablaze and the waterfall cascading beautifully. You can clearly see what a classy and gorgeous environment it was. But not being able to locate any exterior pics of the Dallas D-the-B's (the OTHER UFO-shaped Don's), it hard to be sure, definitively, which one it is.

ADDED-ADDENDUM: I've since spoken to the Man, himself, SvenTiki, who told me that photo is of the D-The-B's in Texas, not SoCal. The tip-off is the upward-slanting end-tips of the spoke-like roof beams.

Isn't Snyder the guy that bought the Don The Beachcomber name at the Palm Springs Don The Beachcomber sale? He supposedly has been trying to do something with the name ever since. It is unfortunate that he does not seem to see the value in the research of such Don The Beachcomber aficionados as Jeff Berry, who is certainly among those to be credited with having resurrected the name.

Snyder seems to be an "old school" kind of a guy, in the good and in the bad sense: A man who does things "his own way":

WIKIPEDIA says:

Arthur K. Snyder is a lawyer and was a politician in Los Angeles, California. During his time as a politician he was known as Art Snyder but later in life has taken to using his formal name.
Art Snyder joined Los Angeles City Council in 1967. He represented the Fourteenth District, which includes the communities of Eagle Rock, Highland Park, and Boyle Heights. He gained office upon the death of Councilman John Holland, whom he had served as Chief of Staff. Snyder was later elected and remained in office through re-election until resigning amid a sexual scandal involving his daughter and another young woman in January 1985, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Snyder occupied his seat at a time of demographic transformation, when the population of his district was rapidly becoming Latino-majority. In 1971, a state supreme court decision (Calderon v. Los Angeles) illegalized the city's existing scheme of dividing districts based on registered voters rather than eligible voters. In the wake of that decision, the Council voted almost unanimously (Snyder offered the only dissenting vote) to redraw the Fourteenth District to reflect its Latino majority.
Even without the benefits of gerrymandering, Snyder continued to represent the district. His constituent service and efforts to remain in contact with his changing district allowed him to survive politically as his district changed to become over 75% Hispanic, despite a number of challenges, two failed recall efforts, and lawsuits by Snyder against contenders.
Still, by the early 1980s his continued position seemed an anachronism. In the 1982 election that finally saw Latino politicians return to the council, challenger Steve Rodriguez nearly forced a run-off, failing primarily because he lacked strong support from other Latino politicians.
After the second recall, Snyder eventually resigned before the end of his term amid the scandal of a messy divorce from the second of his three wives, and claims of child molestation against him by his daughter Erin Marisol Snyder. During a hearing on those charges Snyder pleaded the Fifth Amendment dozens of times. a few years later, Snyder's daughter later recanted her accusations of molestation, and after a financial settlement with his second wife, lived with Snyder.
Snyder later became a lobbyist and in 1996 was found guilty of an elaborate money laundering scheme whereby various friends, relatives and associates made campaign donations to politicians and were then repaid with money from his clients. At the time the Los Angeles Times stated his fine by the California Fair Political Practices Commission was the largest ever. In 2001 he was temporarily disciplined by the California State Bar Association, and had to stop the practice of law for six months, as a result of his 1996 conviction.
Snyder is presently a semi retired lawyer and real estate investor with holdings in Las Vegas and Texas. He maintains his Eagle Rock home as a Law office serving his friends and former clients on a part time basis.

WOW, does this bring back memories!
I lived on my boat(s) directly in front of DTB's for about 15 years, and spent quite a bit of time there. Mostly Happy Hour time, as it was THE hangout for a lot of the boating professionals who lived and/or worked in Marina del Rey. Lots of celebrities would come in there too. The Polynesian Revue was very popular.
I remember all the blowfish lamps hanging over the bar. One of them fell one time and hit a friend of mine's hand, which got infected. Not sure if it was remnant blowfish poison or just the dust and muck on it. Those blowfish lamps are hard to clean. (g)
Last time I was at the site was around 1996, and it was closed up and looked the same as the photos here from a few weeks ago.
Thanks for the thread and the photos!

On 2009-01-14 07:14, Ojaitimo wrote:Art Snyder is opening a DTB in Marina Del Rey and Las Vegas.
I took these photos the other day, looks like some improvements are being made, Maybe he is reopening here. Anyone know?

are you people serious about this? i just drove by the place and it doesn't look like there is any work being done there. frankly i'm fascinated by the idea of this location reopening as a tiki bar/restaurant, so i hope there is some truth to this.

On 2009-01-28 12:40, mattesq wrote:are you people serious about this? i just drove by the place and it doesn't look like there is any work being done there. frankly i'm fascinated by the idea of this location reopening as a tiki bar/restaurant, so i hope there is some truth to this.